Summer Sweethearts
by rjmg
Summary: Wren was in Cath's dorm then, and was Reagan home too, when Levi comes in and announces that he had a great idea. He brought up the suggestion of a summer outing, their very first out-of-school bonding.
1. PROLOGUE

_A/N: Heyo~ I guess I love LeviCath too much that I decided to come up with this (whoops Fangirl hangover). _

* * *

Cath had begun to accept "She Who Would Not Be Named". She had finally decided that Laura's change of heart triggered a change of judgement in Cath as well, earning their mother a second chance.

It roots back just a few months back, to an epic episode of chaos at St. Richard's Hospital (again), where she had almost given up on thinking her dad was still coming back to them. He was absolutely bonkers beyond redemption, and they had begun to accept that.

Throughout those rigorous two weeks, Wren (the Affectionate One) couldn't bear having their dad slip away without having _her_ aware of it, so she sends a simple text: _We're losing dad. _Period. When Cath found out about it, an argument still ensued (about their molecular composition and biological connections and how Laura was still an immediate family member), but Wren held her ground just to get her to budge. She eventually did.

However, 37 hours pass without any response from her, and his condition grows even more futile.

"Let her spend the rest of her _independent_ life writhing in guilt by how much she has let this family fall apart!" her teeth were gritted and she was shaking with rage, filling with tears. "I'd fooled myself by thinking she'd at least have the decency as a human being to help another fucking one in need. Are we that worthless to her?"

Wren kept silent; distant and seated in the waiting room in front of the livid Cath, shoving the hem of the borrowed cardigan sleeve over her mouth to muffle the whimpering.

That was when Laura made a dramatic entrance by the edge of that vacant hallway. With soppy eyes and a worn out figure, she froze in her place. She had overheard everything.

"Dad's inside," Cath barely croaked out, bowing hear head to hide the shame that smacked her squarely in her face.

After senseless muttering, manic laughter, and unreasonable rash behaviour, the fog that had crept into his eyes and mind cleared entirely the moment he laid eyes on her. He calmed down. He calmed down_ instantly._ Laura broke down when she saw him, and they managed to end up in each other's arms, for some twisted reason. But that twisted reason was the one that kept him standing till today, and Cath was grateful.

Laura announced she'd hang around for a while, which immediately baffled the two—well, more of Cath; but they saw their dad doing better than ever, so they couldn't resist to that. Even Cath couldn't argue with that. She was overwhelmed and just happy that he was back. Contented.


	2. On the highway to hell, sweetheart

"Wren, hurry up!"

Cath stuffed a barely used pink and green polo into her bag, thinking that it might just come in handy with one of her tank tops later on (Wren had forced her to dress _decently_ for the occasion. "Get rid of those cardigans for a change," she had said; _Chh,_ Cath thought). She zipped it up and fell backwards onto her bed, feet dangling on the edge.

"Wre—en," she called in a sing-song voice.

"God damn it I'm coming, just give me a second—they're not even here yet!"

Cath let out a laugh, and then whipped out her phone to see if she had received any texts from Levi or Reagan. It was empty, but the moment she thought of him—her phone buzzed, and it was Levi's name on the caller ID.

"Cather," she could hear the playful smile in his voice. And Reagan in the background.

"Where are you guys?" she smiled back.

"On the highway to hell, _sweetheart," _Reagan mocked faintly; each syllable dripping with disgust.

_Oops_, they forgot to filter that small quirk in their relationship in front of her. Cath could imagine her eyes rolling as she said it, which made her laugh.

"5 minutes or so away," he interrupted. The way she pictured his eyes turning into sweet crescents as his mouth drew up in the corners made her stomach flutter; even all through they've spent together.

Wren had finally come out of the bathroom. She rushed to the bed and dropped to Cath's ear level to whisper into the phone, "You guys brought alcohol, right?"

"Aaand that was Wren." She shot her a glance.

"Whaat I'm kinda sick of the abstinence bull," Wren said, departing from the speaker and shrugging. Cath rolled her eyes.

"Alright, we'll see you in 5."

"I'll make sure to escort us all to the beach in no time, not to worry," and then his voice hushed, "Permission to be _your _entourage?"

"I'll be looking forward to that, sir." Blood shot up her cheeks.

"Alright, later." He was first to put down the phone.

When she looked up from it, Wren was walking to and fro from her closet to her bed, drying her hair with a towel with one hand and shoving essentials into her bag with the other.

Cath remained on her bed, staring at the ceiling, finding herself acquainted with another Simon and Baz poster overhead. But she gazed right through it.

Wren aimed the scrunched towel perfectly in Cath's face as she noticed her drifting off to someplace again.

"Is someone, like, getting laid tonight?"

A faint shade of pink brushed Cath's cheek at the thought. She tosseed the damp fabric back in response.

….

"I'll never get used to this." Reagan said appalled as she alternated gazes from Cath (in the passenger's seat) to Wren (beside her).

_Wren was in Cath's dorm then, and was Reagan home too, when Levi comes in and announces that he had a great idea. He brought up the suggestion of a summer outing, their very first out-of-school bonding._

_"Am I included in this conversation?" Wren turned to Cath, then to Levi._

_"Of course," He grinned._

_"Oho, this is gonna be some crazy shit," Reagan said in an animated tone as she scanned the twins. "I'm in."_

_Cath had always known that deep inside her roommate had a hint of curiosity for her sister; after all, they were more alike in most aspects of personality._

_"I'm sure dad and mom would want to spend some time…" Wren told Cath, almost pleading. She sighed at the persistence of her sister._

_"Don't you have any plans set?"_

_"I could make adjustments if necessary," replied Wren, "But as far as I know, I've got a loose schedule."_

_"What about Jandro?"_

_"He's at home for the summer, so I'm pretty much left with..." she made a face, "not much."_

_Cath looked at Levi for a minute before answering. He smiled back with hopeful eyes._

_"Alright, that makes four of us."_

_He made a fist and thrust it to the air. "Woohoo!"_

And that was why they were together now.

"Oh, I'm sure you will." Wren snatched the unlit cigarette from Reagan's mouth and lit it in her own.

"Hey!" agitated at first, but amused not shortly after. "Hmm, I guess I will." She leaned back with arched eyebrows and a smirk.

Levi was laughing as he watched all that transpire in the rear view mirror, but something else stole his glance—Cath's fingers crept above his own that gripped the gearshift, just hovering there while he drove.

"Hey," she greeted softly.

"Hey, Cather."

She actually just wanted to hear his voice. And see his gleeful eyes on her; _for_ her. This boy might give out smiles as if they were merely fliers to be distributed to the crowd, but she has grown enough with him to know that there's a certainty and tenderness to his expression when it's projected to her. She knows it because she feels it; something so familiar to her now that she could filter through all the smiles he has given away and still discern with exactness what was her own.

When he turned back to the road, she rested her head against the window and just stared at him (it's not as if they could actually talk comfortably (flirt) with Reagan and Wren just behind them anyway), breathing in for the nth time how his features were assembled.

Though she may have already memorized the perpendicular position of his forehead to the pronounced tip of his nose to the flatness of his chin, every time she examined it was a whole new experience. She could already make a thousand-plus-word fic just focusing on his facial profile. She could paint a precise picture of him with eyes closed—too bad she wasn't Van Gogh though, or any visual artist for the matter. The whole fanart thing wasn't in her field, ha ha. Though at times she really wished it was.

Her gaze shifted to the highway that seemed to dash through them as she turned her head to stare out the glass. Later on, she falls asleep despite the racket amidst her—her hand still on his.

….

She woke up to Reagan whining. "Hey, let me drive!"

Glancing at her watch, she saw that only a few minutes have gone by; and they still had roughly an hour to go. She twisted around to find Reagan prodding Levi's shoulder and Wren on the other end of the seat, entrenched in her iPod.

"Why don't we rotate?" Cath suggested, "Take rounds at driving, I mean."

"Yeah, Levi, why don't you listen to your girlfriend?" Reagan backed her up, which made Cath flush upon hearing the term from _Reagan_.

He peeked at Wren through the rear view mirror, "You up for it?" She blinked her eyes and raised a thumb.

"You sure you don't want to leave the work to me?" Levi smiled lightly to no one in particular.

"It'll keep us all awake," Reagan yawned as the car eased to a stop on the side of the road, where all of them got out and scrambled to new seating arrangements (the vice versa of how they were situated before). Reagan hopped behind the wheel and slammed her door shut.

The new positions indeed kept the driver awake—however, not all. Wren still ended up listening to her music with eyes closed and Cath still fell asleep, resting peacefully on Levi's shoulder-which tugged him to doze off too (it made Reagan shudder). With that, the rotation was automatically called off.

"Fuck you all," she grumbled. "Alright, since I hear no complains, have fun suffocating on this," she mumbled to herself as she lit a cigarette, keeping the windows up.

Eventually she had to bring them down, of course.


	3. That's no way to spend a vacation!

Reagan brought the vehicle to a deathly halt, jamming the break like there was no tomorrow.

"Wakey wakey!" she sang in disdain.

Everyone was thrown forward; confused and panting, jolted awake.

"Jesus, Reagan, you're paying for my car!" Levi exclaimed in alarm, thinking they actually crashed into something—so with the arm he had around Cath, he gripped her shoulder, making sure to secure her.

"Chill the fuck out dude, my intentions weren't for the car." She shut the engine. "Is this the hotel?"

"If the beach is 500 meters away, then yes." He loosened his grip and gave her room to recover.

Reagan took the keys out and tossed it out back, which he caught in an attractive swipe, Cath thought.

….

"Damn, the accommodations here are expensive," Wren said as she opened her wallet. "How many rooms can we afford if we split up the pay?"

They ended up with only two: one for the girls and one for the boy. Although Cath swore she sensed Levi's hand jerk beside hers during the room assigning—like a little kid who'd fight to be your partner in pair schoolwork. She itched to grab it, but Reagan's face flashed across her thoughts the instant she considered it. Unfortunately, _PDA_ was still prohibited as long as her boyfriend's best friend (his bloody ex!) was around. Plus, going together in a single room would probably get her thinking they were violating another one of her rules—Reagan'd get ideas that they were having sex. Cath definitely didn't want that, so all she could do was comply.

They arrived at their room and settled their stuffed bags in a corner. Cath immediately collapsed face first into the nearest bed; raising her hand to signify that she had found her allocation in the room. "Mine."

Cath could tell that Wren had already begun applying sunscreen by the bed to her right while Reagan dug for a swimsuit to her left. Levi was on his own in the next room.

Not long after, slippers began to shuffle to the door.

"Hey, Cath, you coming or what?" Wren called before stepping out.

Cath turned her head lazily to face them. Despite wearing shorts, she could see that Wren's body modelled a maroon bikini perfectly—made slightly visible by the thin cream top she had on. Wren, always the Beautiful One.

"I'll follow," she said, shutting her eyes sluggishly.

"You're hell of a bummer, you know that?" Reagan complained, "Remind me again why I agreed to be roommates with a tarsier for another year?" She had on shades drawn up on her head and a black tank top, a green towel draped over her shoulders. She was ready for the beach as well.

Cath just let out a lengthy groan to irritate them as she buried her face in the mattress.

"Suit yourself," said Reagan as she gave up and shut the door.

She was feeling idle towards meeting new people again…But seriously though, for as long as they've known each other, hadn't Reagan gotten that she was more of an indoor person? Wasn't her constant hiding in the room enough to get that across, a signal not to be bothered? Did she have to—

Someone barges into the room.

"That's no way to spend a vacation!" His voice resounded all throughout. And though loud, it was pleasant to her ears.

He grabbed both her ankles with each hand and hauled her away from the covers in one pull. She tried to clutch onto the slipping sheets, but he was too strong to contest to. Maybe she didn't want to resist.

Before she could collide with the floor though, Levi caught her from behind, crouching as he held out his sturdy arms to let her hang from it. When she craned her neck to look at him, he planted a kiss on her lips before she could register his face—which she gladly responded to, sliding her hand through his downy hair to bring him even closer. He pulled away as he sensed her getting lured in.

"Nope," his eyes glimmered as he teased her playfully (she blushed), "We, dear Cath Avery, are not going to let a hot summer day waste away. Wanna swim?"

She stuck out her tongue.

"Well then," he gripped her hand and prepared himself for a mighty yank. "Get up!"

He laughed as she wobbled to regain her footing.


	4. Seems we've gotten ourselves an audience

As they approached the beach, Cath scanned the coast for any sign of her sister and roommate. She hardly broke a sweat as her eyes fell immediately on the back of a slender figure of a girl perched on a stool by the bar. With her body against Cath, she could see that Wren's hair was looking pretty as ever—and was getting longer too, but it still suited her nevertheless. Cath, on the other hand, still hadn't trimmed hers in a while, having it drape from her shoulders, flowing a long way down to her back whenever she felt like letting it loose. She wondered how Wren's hairstyle would've looked if it were on her, but there wasn't much wonder in thinking of it anymore since both were practically a carbon copy of each other. The only question was who carried it better—although there's actually not much wonder in that, either.

Right now, however, she wore it high up in a messy bun. She liked the way Levi's hand would creep up randomly and brush her neck when he fiddled with the loose strands; it was amusing how she pondered upon the number of nerve endings that might be present there as a reaction to his slight touch. Plus, he told her it suited her very well.

Still standing from a distance, Cath cocked her head to the right to get a better view of Wren's companions. Beside her sat Reagan, legs crossed, balancing another cigarette between two fingers and grasping her beer on the counter with the other. Wren was just enjoying a smoothie, thankfully, sparing her twin from trouble. They both seemed to be engrossed in a conversation with the bartender, which surprised Cath, for her roommate and sister were _actually_ getting along. So she decided to leave them be. Instead, she wove her fingers into Levi's and pulled him towards the sea.

"Now that's the spirit!" he cheered as she paced, hand in hand with him, for the water.

Before her feet could touch the wet, he caught her by the waist and scooped her from behind. He spun her around and flung her into the sea unexpectedly. She had little-to-no time to flail, so she squeaked and squawked in glee instead.

If Levi thought he was so decisive, though, Cath proved him wrong. As he threw her in one big sweeping motion, she managed to remain clinging onto his arm, hauling him in with her before he could set up any guard. They tripped and tumbled upon each other, a wet tangle in the public beach.

"Seems we've gotten ourselves an audience," Levi smirked as he gazed down at Cath, the lengthy part of his hair dripping all over her face. Though they kept their eyes on each other, they could sense numerous eyes glued in their direction. They were still in shallow water, just enough for him to pin her down with his elbows on each side, his breath wrapping around her face as he spoke. She, on the other hand, had her hands laid flat and firm on his chest, as if ready to push him off in an instant. But she didn't.

"Get off," she whispered sheepishly, her face slowly blooming into ripening tomato, "don't let Reagan see us."

He laughed and left a gentle peck on the tip of her nose instead, complying with the demand.

She propped herself up while nursing a blend of frustration and relief from Levi detaching himself. If under any other circumstances—excluding those which involved Reagan or pretty much the public—she would've held him close until they could possibly merge into one being, until she withered and crumbled in his embrace.

She swept her head to the side, a few drenched clusters of hair that hung whipping in that direction, as she watched for Reagan's or Wren's eyes. Other than some nearby strangers, no one else had seen their scene.

"Hey," Levi tugged gently on a strand.

"Hmm?" she turned to catch his eyes, though failed to steady them with her own to prevent from wandering to her flushed cheeks.

He had a bright grin plastered on his angelic face when he saw her, _dear God._ "What do you say about getting out of the spotlight?"

"Definitely," she replied with finality.

….

It seemed that fleeting instance had sparked a wanting inside each of them, which landed them on the mild side of rabid as they craved more for each other. If physical and emotional and spiritual contact could possibly clash, it would more or less be an accurate description of what they were itching for at the moment. After jogging and chasing and teasing and laughter all the way from the beach back to the hotel, they came fumbling through the door and flopping onto Levi's perfectly neat bed.

Cath ran her fingers all through his damp hair frantically and Levi clung on to her waist as if he was clutching for dear life. They were introduced to kiss upon kiss upon kiss, scrambling against each other, feet shuffling awkwardly as they made their way to the mattress. They've already done it before, but this frenzied passion was all so new to Cath that it almost _literally_ made her swoon. Not that she didn't like it, though; she just wouldn't get to savour every decline and slope and curve of his perfectly structured face as she was accustomed to.

It worked either way. Their soaked clothes fell in a heap by the bedside, and the sheets beneath her danced; her stomach made her feel as if she was on a roller coaster that was about to dip from the apex of its tracks at every brush of his fingers on her skin, leaving her pretty much as a nervous wreck . And Levi didn't help tame the ecstasy _at all_. How could he, staring down at her so solely in that brilliant moment, chest heaving, with eyes so piercingly beautiful she could've been a nail being hammered down into place. Levi, looking more glorious than all her fictional crushes combined—which she never thought was possible, hence her preference to the fictional realm. But Levi was living, breathing (panting), tangible proof that good things existed in the real world; that wonders aren't only conceivable in the imagination.

They were kissing again, and their hands traced each other like fingers would trail upon a splayed out map; with as much devotion and subtlety—well, cutting down a bit on the latter. Just as that roller coaster was about to lunge and release a startling rush of built up adrenaline, a voice booms throughout the room. They seize the sheets in merely an eye's blink.

"Oh fuck," said the figure by the doorway, "you've got to be kidding me."


	5. Group trip?

She threw her hands up in exasperation. "I thought this was sort of like a _group_ trip?" Reagan rolled her eyes in what appeared to be a straining manner, "Jesus fucking Christ guys, get a room!"

"We _are_ in a room," Levi said sharply due to surprise, "in case you didn't notice!" He seemed impatient. Cath just sat there dazed on the undone bed, grasping a blanket to her chest—the thin sheet sufficient enough to cover his lower half and her entire body, thankfully. It just got to her after a few moments that Levi wasn't smiling. It made her stomach sink.

"Well, there is such a thing called a lock," his ex said calmly (Cath began to breathe again), "and word of advice, it comes in handy when doing…" she cocked out a finger and made a sarcastic-with-a-tinge-of-disgust circling motion around the bed, around us. "…_this._"

Her eyes flitted to Cath for a brief, dragging second, then to Levi. She squinted her eyes a tad as she zoomed out to the big picture, and then just shrugged off the whole thing as if it were something that was encountered on a regular basis.

The door was inches from shutting when her voice resounded in the room again.

"Oh, right," a follow up message, apparently, "why I came here. There's a party down at the beach tonight. Come if you're not busy." The click signified that the door was in place again.

"Holy shit." Cath still held her hands to her chest, clenched tightly against the sheet that barely dressed her bare skin, now for the reason of feeling her racing heartbeat. She stared blankly ahead.

What happened was beyond embarrassing, and she wasn't sure if she could face Reagan straight when they would be left alone together after this. Constantly slipping from their dorm to evade her company seemed like a strenuous job, though not unlikely.

"Cather," he rubbed the small of her back soothingly, to pacify her. "It's alright."

She mustered the courage to look him in the eye, and to her surprise, she found him smiling again. Genuine and warm and encouraging. _Tempting._ She leaned forward and kissed him again, only more softly now, progressing calmly from where they had left off.

….

Cath's head lay on Levi's chest as she trailed her hand up and down his lean torso, planting kisses on it every now and then—she had found an alternative to just focusing on his face. She had her eyes closed as her fingers brushed his skin, feeling every rise and fall as he breathed, feeling even her warm breath bounce back in their closeness. He stroked her hair with tenderness as they killed time; a shade of auburn had begun burning its way into the sky, seeping through their window to play on lashes and cheeks as they savoured those moments in silence.

"You going tonight?" she whispered into his chest.

"It's worth a shot," he giggled softly, still fiddling with her hair. A moment or two passed before she could reply.

"What about Reagan?" she muttered shyly.

"What _about _Reagan?" he questioned; the mild elation in his voice almost teasing.

"_You know_…" she said sheepishly, burying her face into him to hide the heat that radiated in her cheeks. She shook her head, "I don't like what happened."

He laughed, and then rested his cheek on her head. "Don't worry about it, okay?"

She didn't understand how he was so chill about it. She mumbled something in response, but the words came out muffled and indiscernible.

"Cather," he said gently, "do you trust me?"

She nodded gingerly and tilted her head a bit to face his eyes. They shone though dim.

"Nothing's gonna change between us and her, alright sweetheart?" he conveyed slowly, and then sealed her lips with a kiss before rolling her off the bed. "Better get dressed now if we're going out though," he smirked, "you don't wanna draw more attention, now do you?"

"Oww!" she exclaimed, though her landing barely made a thud.

Cath rose from the floor coyly and slipped back into her clothes—still damp, but as if she had any other choice—making her way for the wall. She pressed her ear against it to hear if it was safe enough in her room to make a run for dry attire.

At the moment, she was wary of any other company; still unable to recover from the _accident_. Reagan and Levi might have just brushed off what had happened so effortlessly, but things like that simply did not go overlooked in Cath's world. She had assumed the two wouldn't be inside their room since they were more of outdoor and outgoing people, but she hears a faint noise on the other side of the hollow division.

"Ugghhh," she gave a long and retired grunt as she slid down the wall to end up huddled on the ground. Her plain white cotton tee hugged her body, just clammy and thin enough to expose a black bra beneath. Fortunately, her long hair came to the rescue, leaving it tumble down both sides to conceal what was under. Her denim shorts were drenched even more; though not dripping, so it was manageable.

"I'm going out like this?" she shot a face at Levi, who was still under the covers, watching in amusement as she sulked.

He reached for his bag without moving from his place, dug out a faded pink button up, and threw it at her, "either go out and face them or come in that." His teeth were in a grand display again.

"You're beautiful either way."

….

They were on their way out already when Cath realized her room was empty. She thought about dropping by to change at least, but she saw herself in the reflection of a glass window and realized how her outfit suited her. She hadn't discarded any of the clothes she wore. She had just added his shirt and left it unbuttoned and rolled up by the sleeves, letting the opening hang just like she'd leave a cardigan agape—just enough to shield her from the chill that might latch on her damp tee. Levi's body wasn't too big or too small, so the looseness of his clothing fit her fairly well.

However, other than excuses on appearance,(the most honest reason) she had grown entrenched in Levi's scent that clung onto that borrowed shirt, not wanting to take it off. _Ever_—_too_ entrenched, apparently, to the point of considering even swimming in his laundry pile. Discarding it was a remote thought.

Since her shirt was thin, the warm summer breeze was enough to dry it up just right.

The sun had already gone down by the time they hit the road, so they had to walk in the shade of distantly situated lamp posts. Guiding her the entire way to their destination was Levi, his arm resting atop her shoulders and drawing her nearer—as if body heat could make up for the puffs of wind that gently nibbled at their skin. The soft buzzing of streetlights overhead and the crashing of waves in the distance and the _mere_ voice of this boy, though, was enough to keep her warm internally for days and days and days.

As warm grains of sand began wandering into their slippers and slipping under their feet, she spotted a faint flicker on the far side of the area, someplace close to shore. Drawing near, they made out that it was a bonfire, surrounded by people laughing and relaxing and simply having fun—Wren and Reagan included. With that sight and this splendid being in her presence, all her momentary concerns and paranoia just seemed washed away with the pull of every current—no more being timid around Reagan (or other humans, for the matter), no more worrying about her dad, no more fussing about her latest update for her new ongoing fic—because in that very moment, everything just felt right.


End file.
